1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for feeding rod members from one of a pair of transportation paths crossing each other to the other and changing the direction of transportation of the rod members.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a filter cigarette manufacturing system comprises a cigarette manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing cigarettes and an attachment apparatus or so-called filter attachment for attaching filters to the manufactured cigarettes. The cigarette manufacturing apparatus forms a continuous tobacco rod in a known manner. The formed tobacco rod is cut into cigarette rods with a predetermined length in the cigarette manufacturing apparatus, and the cigarette rods are delivered toward the filter attachment.
More specifically, the manufactured cigarette rods are delivered from the cigarette manufacturing apparatus toward the filter attachment in a manner such that the respective end faces of two adjacent cigarette rods are in contact with each other. Here it is to be noted that the transportation direction and axial direction of the cigarette rods are in line with each other.
In the filter attachment, as is generally known, each of the cigarette rods is transported at right angles to its axis, and a filter is connected to an end portion of the cigarette rod in this process of transportation, whereupon a filter cigarette as a final article of commerce is obtained.
On a first transportation path for cigarette rods which extends from the cigarette manufacturing apparatus to the filter attachment, the individual cigarette rods are transported in their axial direction, as mentioned before. On a second transportation path for cigarette rods in the filter attachment, on the other hand, the cigarette rods are transported at right angles to their axial direction. Therefore, the filter cigarette manufacturing machine should be provided with a changing device for changing the direction of transportation of the cigarette rods when the cigarette rods transfer from the first transportation path to the second.
For example, a changing apparatus of this type is described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 6-56. This conventional changing apparatus comprises a deflector which feeds cigarette rods to a conveyor for use as the second transportation path. The deflector has a rotatable cam. The outer peripheral surface of the cam is formed as a cam face, which includes a first contact surface, which accelerates the cigarette rods in their axial direction along the first transportation path, and a second contact surface, which subjects the cigarette rods to a kinetic component in a direction perpendicular the axial direction, that is, in the moving direction of the conveyor.
As each of cigarette rods transported on the first transportation path passes the deflector or the rotating cam, it is therefore accelerated in its axial direction to be separated from a succeeding cigarette rod by the agency of the first contact surface of the cam. Thereafter, the cigarette rod is subjected to the kinetic component in the moving direction of the conveyor, so that it can transfer from the first transportation path to the second transportation path or the conveyor.
The first contact surface is formed as a suction face, which serves securely to accelerate the cigarette rod. More specifically, when the first contact surface is within a predetermined suction region with respect to the rotational angle of the cam, it is supplied with suction pressure. When the first contact surface is off the suction region, it is cut off from the suction pressure supply.
While the cam is rotating, therefore, the first contact surface is cyclically supplied with the suction pressure, so that noises are generated during suction pressure supply or at the time of interruption of the pressure supply.
The noise generation frequency increases in proportion to the rotating speed of the cam, thereby worsening the working atmosphere.
Additional use of soundproof equipment is needed in order to solve this problem. If the soundproof equipment is incorporated in the filter cigarette manufacturing machine, the machine becomes oversized and expensive, so that the manufacturing cost of filter cigarettes increases.
In order to secure the transfer of the cigarette rods from the cam of the deflector to the conveyor, on the other hand, fluctuation of the suction pressure supplied to the first contact surface of the cam must be restricted within an allowable range. If the operating speed of the manufacturing machine is increased, however, the fluctuation of the suction pressure on the first contact surface may augment beyond the allowable range in some cases.
This awkward situation may be removed by increasing the suction pressure supplied to the first contact surface. In this case, however, a bulky source of suction pressure is needed, and besides, and fine adjustment of the suction pressure to be supplied is not easy.
Since the perimeter of its first contact surface is fixed, moreover, the deflector cam cannot readily conform to change of the cigarette size.